Bates and Gonzalez named co-presidents of Penn State Uplifting Athletes chapter

➤ 2017 ➤ Sophomore SeasonSeason: Started all 13 games at center.

Akron (9/2): Helped pave the way for 569 total yards...Cleared the way for Saquon Barkley’s 174 rushing yards for his 11th career 100-yard rushing game...Protected Trace McSorley to the tune of 280 passing yards and two scoring throws...Didn’t allow a sack or quarterback hurry...Part of the offensive line unit that was named the coaching staff's Offensive Player of the Week. Pittsburgh (9/9): Part of an offensive line that allowed just one sack...Blocked for 148 total rushing yards - including 88 from Saquon Barkley - and protected Trace McSorley to the tune of three touchdowns and 164 yards passing. Georgia State (9/16): Guided the offense to 526 yards of total offense, including Trace McSorley's sixth-career 300-yard passing game (309 yards) and his school-record fourth game with four-or-more touchdown passes...Helped Penn State score eight offensive touchdowns, coming from eight different Penn Staters...Saw Penn State eclipse the 30-point mark for the 10th-straight game, just the fifth streak of 10-or-more games in Big Ten history. at Iowa (9/23): Helped Penn State to a season-high 579 yards of total offense on a school-record 99 offensive plays...Paved the way for Saquon Barkley's career-high 211 rushing yards and 94 receiving yards, which helped Barkley to a school-record 358 all-purpose yards...Blocked for Trace McSorley's 284-yard passing effort. Indiana (9/30): Helped protect Trace McSorley for his seventh career 300-yard passing game...Allowed the passing game time to find DaeSean Hamilton on nine occasions, which led to Hamilton breaking Penn State's career receptions record. at Northwestern (10/7): Protected quarterback Trace McSorley to the tune of 245 yards passing and cleared the way for Saquon Barkley's two touchdowns and game-high 75 rushing yards...Aided the team in piling up 381 yards of total offense to earn bowl eligibility. Michigan (10/21): Helped Penn State pile up 506 yards of total offense, the most allowed by Michigan since 2015 vs. Indiana (527 yards)...The 303 yards gained in the first half by Penn State are the most allowed by a Jim Harbaugh-coached Michigan team in any half...Instrumental in the Nittany Lions five rushing touchdowns and one receiving score...Cleared the way for Saquon Barkley's 108 yards rushing and two touchdowns...Protected Trace McSorley on a 282-yard passing night and one scoring strike...McSorley also ran for 76 yards and three scores, the most by a Penn State quarterback since at least 1967. at Ohio State (10/28): Part of an offensive line that helped produce 283 yards...Protected Trace McSorley, who threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 49 yards and a score...Helped the offense score 38 points, the most allowed by Ohio State since giving up 41 tallies to Michigan in 2013. at Michigan State (11/4): Helped the offense post 466 yards of total offense, including 401 yards passing...Protected Trace McSorley to the tune of 381 yards passing and three touchdowns...Blocked for Saquon Barkley's game-high 63 rushing yards...Helped Penn State sustain a 12-play, 95-yard scoring drive - its longest in terms of yards and tied for the longest in terms of plays in 2017. Rutgers (11/11): Protected Trace McSorley to the tune of 16-of-21 passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns...Blocked for a pair of Saquon Barkley rushing scores and one McSorley touchdown scamper. Nebraska (11/18): Helped the offense pile up 609 yards of total offense, its most since 1995 vs. Rutgers (661) and the third-most in a Big Ten game...Paved the way for 32 first downs, the fourth-most in Penn State's Big Ten history and most since gaining 35 first downs vs. Minnesota in 2005...Protected Trace McSorley in his ninth-career 300-yard passing game, throwing for 325 yards and three touchdowns...Opened lanes for Saquon Barkley's 158-yard, three-touchdown contest. at Maryland (11/25): Paved the way for a Penn State Big Ten-record 66 points, besting the 63 points scored against Ohio State (1994) and Illinois (2005)...Blocked for Trace McSorley's 21st career 200-yard passing game, as McSorley threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns...Helped three players rush for touchdowns, including three from Tommy Stevens, two by Saquon Barkley and one for McSorley...Cleared the way for Stevens' first career 100-yard rushing game, with 113 yards on the ground. vs. Washington (12/30): Guided Penn State's offense to the 23rd-straight game with at least 20 points, which is a school record and the third-longest streak in Big Ten history...Helped the offense to a Penn State bowl-record 545 yards of total offense, which were the most surrendered by Washington since 2014 vs. Oregon (554)...Cleared the way for Saquon Barkley's 137 rushing yards and two scores on the ground...Protected Trace McSorley to the tune of 32-of-41 passing for 342 yards and two touchdowns...Also helped McSorley go a perfect 12-for-12 for 193 yards on third down, which included 11 first downs and two touchdowns.

➤ 2016 ➤ True Freshman SeasonAwards: Named BTN.com All-Big Ten Freshman Team honorable mention...Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week following his efforts in helping Penn State pile up 599 yards of total offense vs. Iowa (11/5)...Is only the third offensive lineman in Big Ten history to claim a weekly award and first since 2004...Is the first offensive lineman to earn B1G FOTW.

Season: Appeared in 13 games with nine starts...Made his first collegiate start vs. Minnesota (10/1)...One of 18 first-time starters in 2016...One of 27 freshmen (22 redshirt, 5 true) to appear in 2016.

Kent State (9/3): Made his collegiate debut. Temple (9/17): Part of a line that didn’t allow a sack...Paved the way for three rushing touchdowns...Protected Trace McSorley in his third career 200-yard passing effort. at Michigan (9/24): Helped Saquon Barkley move into the top-30 on the career rushing list...Protected Trace McSorley, who threw a touchdown pass in his fifth straight game. Minnesota (10/1): Helped Penn State to 471 yards of total offense, the most since racking up an identical total vs. Rutgers in 2015...Protected Trace McSorley to the tune of 408 yards of total offense (335 passing, 73 rushing), the third-highest total in school history...Opened up the left side on Saquon Barkley’s game-winning 25-yard touchdown run in overtime. Maryland (10/8): Paved the way for 372 total rushing yards, the third-highest total for a Penn State team in Big Ten play and fourth-most in any game for Penn State in the last 20 years...Guided the offense to 524 total yards, the most since 2014 vs. UCF (511) and the most in Big Ten play since 2012 vs. Indiana (546). Ohio State (10/22): Cleared the way for Saquon Barkley’s 99 rushing yards. at Purdue (10/29): Helped Penn State gain more than 500 total yards, ending the game with 511...Blocked for Saquon Barkley’s 207 rushing yards and Trace McSorley’s 228 yards passing...Helped Penn State score eight offensive touchdowns in the game...Integral part of Penn State scoring 62 points, its most points since scoring 66 vs. Coastal Carolina in 2006 and the most in a Big Ten game since tallying 63 vs. Illinois in 2005. Iowa (11/5): Blocked for a 167-yard rushing effort by Saquon Barkley and a 240-yard passing night for Trace McSorley...Helped Penn State to 599 yards of total offense, the most since recording 661 yards at Rutgers (1995) and the highest total offense output by Penn State against a Big Ten team since 653 yards against Michigan State (1994)...Overall, Penn State rushed for 359 yards...His efforts enabled the Nittany Lions to go 7-of-14 on third down and the offense did not have a single three-and-out in the game. at Indiana (11/12): Helped protect Trace McSorley during his 332-yard passing game. Michigan State (11/26): Instrumental in Penn State gaining 463 yards of total offense...Helped Trace McSorley pile up 389 yards of total offense, the fifth-most in program history...McSorley threw for 376 yards - the sixth-highest total in school history - with four touchdown passes and rushed for 13 yards. vs. Wisconsin (12/3): Helped Penn State score 38 points, the most scored by a Wisconsin opponent since 2014 (Ohio State; 59)...Protected quarterback Trace McSorley, who threw for 384 yards, which ranks No. 4 in Penn State history and broke the Big Ten Championship Game passing record...Also gave McSorley time to connect on a Big Ten Championship Game-record four passing touchdowns...Paved the way for Saquon Barkley’s 83 yards rushing, which enabled him to break Evan Royster’s Penn State sophomore rushing record. vs. USC (1/2): Helped Penn State become the first team in Rose Bowl history with a 175-yard rusher and receiver in a game (Chris Godwin; 187 receiving yards and Saquon Barkley; 194 rushing yards)...Barkley and Godwin broke the Penn State bowl records for rushing yards and receiving yards in a bowl game, respectively...Penn State’s 465 yards of total offense are fourth in the school’s bowl history and the most since the 1996 Outback Bowl (487)...Protected Trace McSorley to the tune of 254 yards, including a Penn State bowl-record-tying four touchdown passes.

➤ High School
Four-year letterman for head coach Jerry Gilsky at Lake-Lehman High School...Was a two-time team captain...Played with Nittany Lion running back Nick Eury at Lake-Lehman...Selected to the 2016 Army All-American Game...Named to Scout All-America team...Finalist for Pennsylvania Mr. Football...Earned Wyoming Valley Football Conference first team All-League honors in 2013, 2014 and 2015...Selected as the Wyoming Valley Football Conference Most Valuable Player as a senior...Earned first-team all-state honors as a senior...Played in the 2015 UNICO All-Star Game...Named to the 2015 WNEP Dream Team...Selected as team MVP in 2015...Helped the Black Knights to the Wyoming Valley Football Conference title in 2015 with a 10-2 record...Was also a member of the squad that won the Wyoming Valley Football Conference title and the District 2 Championship in 2013 with a 9-3 mark...Ranked as a four-start recruit by all four major recruiting services - ESPN, Rivals, Scout and 247Sports...Ranked as the No. 3 center in the country and No. 7 overall prospect in Pennsylvania by 247Sports...Rated as the fourth-best center in the country and the eight-best overall player in Pennsylvania by ESPN...Ranked as the top offensive guard in Pennsylvania and the No. 2 guard in the East by Scout...Rated No. 2 among centers in the country and No. 6 among overall prospects in Pennsylvania by Rivals...Also earned two letters each in basketball and track and field...Was an all-conference selection in basketball as a junior...Was District 2 shot put champion in 2015...Set school strength records in bench press, squat, deadlift and power clean...Part of National Honor Society in grades 7-12.

➤ Personal
Full name is Connor James McGovern...Son of Maureen and Jim McGovern...Has two brothers, AJ and Tyler...Mother, Maureen, played basketball at King’s College...Father, Jim, played football at Colgate...Hobbies include weightlifting and Xbox...Majoring in agribusiness management...Born November 3, 1997 in Larksville, Pennsylvania.